You have probably seen the "news", meaning rumors, that RIM has internally canceled work on the 10-inch version of the PlayBook tablet. This was to be the second tablet in RIM's PlayBook line, due out late this year. That's not going to happen now according to "those in a position to know", meaning nobody in particular.

RIM has painted itself into a corner with missed opportunities, lack of innovation and most recently the lackadaisical reception of the PlayBook tablet. It is in such a no-win situation that it is going to get bashed in the media for not launching the 10-inch tablet, and equally bashed if it does.

The reports of dismal sales of the 7-inch PlayBook since its launch present a reason good enough to justify postponement, if not outright cancelation, of the next model. The company is not in a solid position in general, and it doesn't make a lot of business sense to keep rolling out products with a poor future. Those of us who cover these things should probably applaud if RIM actually has the guts to officially cancel the 10-inch model, rather than blast them.

One thing is certain, if they proceed as planned and launch the 10-inch PlayBook model, the coverage will be merciless for moving ahead anyway. RIM will get slapped around by the press for ignoring the way things are, and throwing good money after bad. It is a no-win situation for RIM, especially where tablets are concerned.

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' w...
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